Sears Stays the Course

Updated from 7:49 a.m. EST

At Sears Holdings (SHLD), it's the same old song: dismal sales and glowing profits.

The company, a tie-up of Sears and Kmart orchestrated by hedge fund manager Ed Lampert, reported Wednesday that its same-store sales declined over the holidays at both chains. At Sears, same-store sales, or sales at stores open at least a year, tumbled 5.6%, while Kmart same-store sales slid 1.2%.

Meanwhile, Sears Holdings expects to earn $750 million to $830 million, or $4.87 to $5.39 a share, for the fourth quarter ending Feb. 3, up from $648 million, or $4.03 a share, last year.

Sears said its bottom-line estimate includes roughly $20 million in pretax gains resulting from property sales combined with losses from derivative investing activities. Those investments, involving total return swaps, played a big role in Sears' third-quarter results, boosting earnings by some $101 million.

Analysts polled by Thomson First Call had forecast fourth-quarter earnings of $4.86 a share, though it's not clear if that forecast includes the gain.

Shares of Sears Holdings recently were up $3.87, or 2.3%, to $170.10.

With both Sears and Kmart continuing to struggle under pressure from competitors like Wal-Mart (WMT) and Target (TGT), Sears Holdings has long been viewed by investors as a play on the company's coveted real estate assets, as well as Lampert's widely revered investing prowess.